11/25/2015 0 Comments Happy Thanksgiving!I just wanted to send a short and sweet note for Thanksgiving. I know it's a time for family and friends and I don't want to take away from that. I just want to say thank you for hangin' with me this year! This has been a big year for me as far as learning, changing and growing in every way. My continuing search for balance has made me learn how to stay flexible and more open to trying new ways to do things. Hard changes but incredibly beneficial to my family and myself. My goal for next year is to be here even more often with more information that will serve you and your families.
So thank you! Have a great Thanksgiving and know that I am so thankful for you! I did want to share an article I found about drinking and avoiding hangovers :). May be helpful over the holidays for those who partake. https://www.bulletproofexec.com/alcohol-without-the-hangover-bulletproof-partying-business-networking/ I am going to test some of these and I will let you know how they work out. In case you didn't know, yes I drink, yes I have chocolate and yes I believe in treating yourself. So have fun this weekend, relax this weekend! Then come back here because I am planning on doing a free 7 day detox to recover from this family fun! Love you guys! Thanks for reading!
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11/17/2015 0 Comments The Skinny on ProbioticsI was talking with my mom this afternoon about probiotics and thought that this would be a great subject to write on. I am a huge believer that everyone should consider being on a probiotic! Here is the DL on the gut and the importance of plant foods first :).
The human gut is home to over 100 trillion microorganisms. We have so many microorganisms living in us that only 1 out of 10 cells in our bodies is our own. It stands to reason that the delicate balance of this microscopic flora would have huge effects on our health. Recent studies have shown promising links between having the right balance of gut flora and being skinny. It is known that diet also has a huge impact on the type of flora inhabiting our intestines. Combining these two facts can be the key to your weight loss. It seems that a diet high in plant foods has 3 ways it interacts gut flora: first, the fiber only found in plant foods is digested by the good flora in your gut. This process releases propionate. You probably don’t care to know all the fancy names, but you should care about what this short chain fatty acid does for you. It has 3 main functions directly related to your weight: it decreases cholesterol, slows your digestion by making you feel fuller longer, and inhibits the formation of new fat cells. The digestion of fiber from your plant intake also forms a second short chain fatty acid called butyrate. Butyrate inhibits the growth of cancer cells in your colon and has amazing anti-inflammatory properties. The third way plant foods work with your gut flora to curb obesity is by feeding good bacteria and starving the bad. In a study of the flora in thin people versus obese people, it was found that skinny people have a higher amount of bacteroidetes in their colon and obese people have a higher amount of firmicutes. It is known that polyphenols found in fruits, green tea, and vinegar (a good selling point for the morning elixir with raw apple cider vinegar) promote the growth of bacteroidetes and suppress firmicutes. Wow, that was a mouthful. To put it in plain English, plant food grows gut flora that makes you skinny while hindering the growth of gut flora that makes you fat. Sorry for all the big words, but some of you, I know, will want to check my sources. I have two links below that give more in-depth explanations and cite the pertinent research. So, the burning question is: should I take probiotics or not? Well, the answer I believe is yes but it can be complicated. I have long told my clients that not all probiotics work the same for everyone. Just like bioindividuality when it comes to food, the same logic applies to the kind of probiotics you should take. Lactobacilis acidophilus is better after taking antibiotics and for preventing bladder infections in women. Lactobacillus plantaris is great for its anti-inflammatory properties and is best for people with inflammatory bowel conditions like Crohn’s. Most people will benefit from taking a probiotic, but equally important is to frontload your diet with a lot of plant-based nutrition. That is the key to remember, a probiotic will help support your digestive system but you can never forget your fruits and veggies! I take a probiotic and switch it out every other month with another of my favorites. And just so you know it took me awhile to find one let alone two that worked for me. (My two personal faves are Garden of Life Raw probiotics, and PB 8) If you have been following me long enough, you know how I feel about seasonally detoxing your body and resetting your digestive system. The fiber and polyphenols in your fruits and veggies will work with the probiotics and your morning elixir to do all the wonderful things that new research is showing to be true. And remember if you are having a hard time getting those fruits and veggies into your diet, add a smoothie as a snack or breakfast. Delicious and yummy for your gut! Nothing can replace eating a healthy diet loaded with a rainbow of fresh, clean plant food, but when things aren't feeling right, adding probiotics just might do the trick – and help shed a few pounds, too! http://nutritionfacts.org/video/fawning-over-flora/ part 1 of three (follow the links to get to the research) http://doctorklaper.com/answers06.html/ 11/6/2015 0 Comments Steps Toward BalanceGood morning!
I was thinking today that finding balance in our lives is pretty hard sometimes and keeping it seems like a crazy dream. At least in my life, maybe you are blessed with the gift of having it all together and Yay! for you and if that's the case you can go about your day and relish every moment of it :) If you are more like me...this is for you! My days usually start with good intentions of good things, some quiet time, some exercise and a promise to myself I will stay focused on the positive things and just take one moment at a time. I will not lose my patience, I will not scream at my kids, I will not waste all my time on Facebook, I will be productive with my time and not be a crazy, dangling on the edge of my sanity mother and wife today. I believe these are all good thoughts but really by the time I drop my kids off at school I have pretty much failed at one or two of these. And watch out if I don't get my morning routine in I am so, so much worse. I thank God every day I found that Makeover your Mornings course by Crystal Paine, it changed my life. I am in a study right now that talks about imperfect progress. That is my life most days! I am going towards something but I stumble and fall (like scream at my daughter, because why can't she just not do the thing I told her not to do about 1 million times, why?? The worse part is she is telling me why as my head feels like it will explode ). It's like that whole concept of failing forward, don't beat yourself up, learn what you can and move on. You will do better next time or at least the next time after that hehe. Give yourself credit for trying and then keep trying. Because chances are if you beat yourself up you may give up and you deserve better than that and so do your family and friends. It's back to that concept of capturing those negative things you say to yourself, write it down and then change it. Make it positive even if it's something like "I did not scream as much today," or "I was not completely out of my mind today," these are mine ;) but you get the gist. Start where you are and it will get better. If you aren't so hard on yourself I believe you won't be so hard on the people you love. If you are finding yourself off kilter more then usual consider that there may be more off balance in your life than you are aware of. At IIN they gave us a circle of life worksheet that has spokes leading to all the things that can mean a happy and healthy well balanced life. From time to time I like to go back to this to find out what is lacking and what has improved. I will attach it here for you guys and if you would like, check it out. Some times it's the things you do not think about that have you all out of whack because you forgot that they were important. If you want to talk to me about your findings schedule a free 15 minute chat, or make a comment below I would love to hear from you! https://www.dropbox.com/s/0wct6b8uw9rwohh/11_the_circle_of_life.pdf?dl=0 Thanks for reading and have a great day! Hi there! Hope your halloween was so much fun! Ours was different this year, it was so much faster! My girl just ran from house to house, she was so excited. My boy was just trying to keep up with his sister and kept telling her to slow down. So funny :) We finished in 45 minutes!
But now that everyone has so much sugar in the house I thought I would talk about your gut. I know at this time of year it is hard to say no to all the sugary goodness that is surrounding you. Halloween is especially hard when you are overwhelmed with the many choices of all the deliciousness. I am sure at all the other times of the year it is much easier to deny yourself by just not buying those tasty little evil treats but, when they walk into your house carried by those cute little faces it's all over. Believe me, I can stay on track most the time but tis' the season for a few extra pounds wrapped in tiny little bite sized packages. My personal faves are Reese's peanut butter cups and I don't even eat peanuts anymore! I love those things though! So here starts my thoughts on my gut and how to keep everything in balance. First of all if you are going to treat yourself don't over do it. Chew them slowly, savor them, I am all about allowing yourself these kinds of things but use good judgement. If you go for the 90% good food 10% fun, be realistic about how much is 10%. Secondly, keep moving! Keep up the exercise during this crazy season it will definitely help you keep the pounds away. And this will help your digestion too! Lastly remember what sugar can do to you, the highs, the lows, this season is crazy enough without you getting burned out early because of sugar over load. This leads me to the ups and downs during the holidays and sugar does play a big part in that. Your gut, aka "inside your belly", has been proven to be your bodies literal "second brain". For years, the medical world has been trying to figure out what causes our moods to change and what causes common problems that most of us face like stress, anxiety, and even depression. These are common problems, and we know they are linked to serotonin, but did you know that 95% of serotonin isn't even produced in the brain? Serotonin is actually produced in the gut. What we put inside of our bellies is directly related to our emotional health. Our gut consists of bacteria and we need that bacteria to have a healthy balance or the rest of us will not be balanced including our mood. Your gut and your brain work together, so if one is out of balance the other will be also. Have you ever had an upset stomach because your mind was stressed? Well, think about it, if it works one way it works both ways. There have been many scientific studies that have linked mood problems to gut problems and vice versa. Is your gut balanced with 85% good bacteria and 15% bad bacteria? That is the recipe for a healthy gut and a healthy mood. The best way to make sure your body has healthy bacteria for your gut is to feed your gut healthy bacteria. Some symptoms of an unhealthy gut include gas, bloating, nausea, sugar cravings, and more. The best way to make sure that your gut is getting the healthy nourishment it needs is through probiotics. Probiotics can be in pill form, (my fave is Garden of Life Raw probiotics, but everyone is different so you may have to try a couple of kinds to see what works for you) or you can get them right through your diet. Excellent sources of probiotics include kefir and fermented or cultured foods and beverages. Two things I have added recently are kimchi and kombucha, I love both! Keeping a healthy gut in check will help you to digest food properly, absorb vital nutrients, and maintain a healthy state of mind aka your mood. And with all the stress of the holidays we need all the help we can get! Not to mention it would be nice not to be bloated in those new outfits you bought for those fun parties coming your way, right?! Thanks for reading and have a great day! |
MeI am a wife and a mother of two, one boy one girl . They are the loves of my life! And also the reason I do what I do. I have to be able to keep up! Archives
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